England 0-1 Germany: The Last Goal at Wembley and the End of Kevin Keegan (2000)
England 0-1 Germany, one of international football’s great rivalries, was played at Wembley on Saturday 7 October 2000, the last international staged at the old stadium before it came down. Dietmar Hamann drove a free kick past David Seaman on 14 minutes, the last goal scored there. A crowd of 76,377 watched it, and Kevin Keegan resigned as England manager before he had left the building. Howard Wilkinson took caretaker charge the same day.
Keegan had been England manager for under twenty months, and he was gone within two hours of the final whistle.
Key Facts
- Played on Saturday 7 October 2000 at Wembley Stadium, a European qualifier for the 2002 World Cup in Group 9, kicking off at 3.00pm in front of 76,377 people.
- England 0-1 Germany. Dietmar Hamann scored the only goal with a free kick on 14 minutes.
- The strike was the last goal scored at the original Wembley before the ground was demolished in 2003.
- Stefano Braschi of Italy refereed. The goal was a direct free kick, and three players were booked: Andy Cole, Michael Ballack and Jens Nowotny.
- Kevin Keegan resigned as England manager immediately afterwards, ending a tenure of 18 matches: seven wins, seven draws and four defeats.
- Howard Wilkinson was reappointed caretaker the same day and took the side to Helsinki four days later, where Finland 0-0 England left the group unresolved.
- England won Group 9 anyway, level with Germany on 17 points and through on goal difference.
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Fourteen Minutes Into a Farewell Nobody Enjoyed
How England 0-1 Germany Was Settled
The pitch was already wet when Paul Scholes caught Michael Ballack around thirty yards out. Hamann did not wait. He struck the free kick low and hard, a decision rather than a swing of hope: drilled flat, in testing conditions, at a goalkeeper who would have to read the bounce. Seaman got fingertips to it. The ball went in anyway.
Hamann had expected a shooting chance and took it fast. “Seaman wasn’t really ready for the shot, so I had a quick strike,” he said. It was the only goal Germany needed, and the only goal the old ground had left in it.
Keegan’s Last Gamble: Gareth Southgate in Central Midfield
Keegan gambled one final time, handing the holding midfield role to Gareth Southgate rather than to Paul Ince or Dennis Wise. Southgate was a centre back, in a side that already had Tony Adams and Martin Keown in it, with David Beckham and Scholes in midfield and Michael Owen, Andy Cole and Nick Barmby asked to make something of the rest.
Rudi Völler’s Germany did the simpler thing, lining up in a 3-5-2, with Oliver Kahn in goal, Jens Nowotny in the back three and Hamann in the middle of everything. They protected a one-goal lead for the rest of the afternoon and kept a clean sheet. Ballack and Nowotny were booked doing it, with Cole the one England player cautioned.
The Resignation, in the Room With the Bath and the Toilets
Keegan left the pitch to a chorus of catcalls, already intending to give the FA his resignation. He quit in the dressing room straight after the whistle, the final act at a ground whose history ran to 77 years. His explanation was blunt: “I feel I fall short of what is required in this massive job,” he said.
David Davies, the FA’s executive director, came in, and he and Keegan went into the room next to the changing area, the one with the bath in it. Keegan’s reasoning was practical: television crews had filled the corridor outside, and there was nowhere else to go. Told as farce ever since, it was a man looking for a door that shut.
Keegan had been appointed temporary manager on 17 February 1999 and permanent manager on 14 May 1999, and his record stood at 18 matches: seven wins, seven draws and four defeats. That was under twenty months in the job, closed out by an afternoon that produced a defeat, a shut stadium and a vacancy inside two hours.
What Wembley and England Did Next
A Caretaker, a Swede, and Four Days to Helsinki
England had another qualifier inside the week, which is why the timing hurt. Howard Wilkinson was reappointed caretaker on 7 October 2000, the day Keegan resigned, and served until Peter Taylor was made temporary manager on 22 October 2000. Wilkinson’s one match in that spell came in Helsinki on 11 October, a 0-0 draw with Finland: a point taken, a group that suddenly looked hard, and nobody in charge.
The FA then looked abroad. Three months passed between Keegan’s departure and the appointment of Sven-Göran Eriksson, the first non-British manager appointed to the job.
Germany 1-5 England, 329 Days Later
On 1 September 2001 the return fixture was played at the Olympiastadion in Munich, and England won 5-1. Carsten Jancker put Germany ahead on 6 minutes, then Michael Owen scored on 13, 48 and 66, Steven Gerrard on 45 and Emile Heskey on 73. Hamann started that night too, in front of 63,000 with Pierluigi Collina refereeing. Three hundred and twenty-nine days separated the free kick in London from the beating in Bavaria, and the man who scored the first was on the pitch for the second.
England Topped the Group Anyway
England and Germany finished on the same number of points, with England ahead on goal difference after David Beckham’s stoppage-time equaliser at Old Trafford on 6 October 2001, a 2-2 draw with Greece. England qualified as group winners. Germany went into a play-off. The afternoon that cost England their manager did not cost them the group.
| Team | Points | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 17 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | plus 10 |
| Germany | 17 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | plus 4 |
| Finland | 12 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | plus 5 |
| Greece | 7 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | minus 10 |
| Albania | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | minus 9 |
The Stadium Came Down, and So Did the Towers
Wembley itself did not fall straight away. The ground dated to 1923, and the new millennium was the point at which it closed its doors for the last time. The demolition came in 2003. Germany were the last visiting side to win at the original Wembley, and also the first to win an international at its successor.
Keegan died on 20 July 2026 at the age of 75. Newcastle United, the club he served as player and as manager, announced his death, calling him one of the most deeply loved figures in its history. He had been diagnosed with cancer in January 2026.
READ MORE: More fixtures where the history outweighs the football, in our Football Rivalries series →
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About England 0-1 Germany (2000)
What was the score in England v Germany at Wembley on 7 October 2000?
England 0-1 Germany. Dietmar Hamann scored the only goal from a free kick on 14 minutes. The fixture was a World Cup qualifying tie, played in Group 9 in front of 76,377 people at Wembley Stadium. It was the last international played at the old ground.
Who scored the last goal at the old Wembley Stadium?
Dietmar Hamann of Germany, with a free kick against England on 7 October 2000. The strike was the last goal scored at the original ground before it was demolished in 2003. It came from around thirty yards after Paul Scholes fouled Michael Ballack, and it beat David Seaman low. England lost 0-1 and no further goal was scored there.
Why was England 0-1 Germany the last match at the old Wembley?
Because the stadium was being replaced, and this was the last fixture it ever staged. The 2000 defeat by Germany was England’s last international at the ground. Nothing replaced it for years. There was no farewell friendly and no ceremonial send-off: the closing match was a competitive qualifier that England lost.
What minute did Dietmar Hamann score against England in October 2000?
The 14th minute. Dietmar Hamann drove the free kick in from around thirty yards after Paul Scholes fouled Michael Ballack, beating David Seaman low. It was the only goal of the game and the last scored at the old Wembley.
Why did Kevin Keegan resign as England manager on 7 October 2000?
Because he judged himself unable to do the job to the level it demanded. He quit in the England dressing room immediately after the 0-1 defeat, saying he fell short of what the post required and that someone else should take the team on. He had left the pitch to catcalls, on his way to resigning to FA officials. He had been in charge since February 1999.
Where exactly did Kevin Keegan resign after England 0-1 Germany?
In the room next to the England changing area at Wembley, the one containing the bath and the toilets. Immediately after the match, David Davies of the FA came in, and he and Keegan stepped through the door. Keegan’s stated reason was that television crews had filled the corridor outside.
What was the attendance for England v Germany at Wembley in 2000?
76,377, with a 3.00pm kick-off. It was the final crowd the old stadium held. Stefano Braschi of Italy refereed. They saw one goal, scored by the away side inside the first quarter of an hour.
Who took charge of England after Kevin Keegan resigned in October 2000?
Howard Wilkinson, as caretaker, on the same day Keegan went. He was reappointed on 7 October 2000 and took charge of one match in the spell, the qualifier in Helsinki that finished Finland 0-0 England. Peter Taylor was then made temporary manager on 22 October 2000. Three months passed before Sven-Göran Eriksson was appointed, England’s first manager from outside these islands.
Did England still qualify for the 2002 World Cup after losing to Germany at Wembley?
Yes, and as group winners. England and Germany finished level on 17 points from eight matches, with England through on goal difference. The decisive night came a year later, when David Beckham’s stoppage-time free kick rescued a 2-2 draw with Greece at Old Trafford. Germany were sent into a play-off instead.
What happened when England played Germany again after the 2000 Wembley defeat?
England won 5-1 in Munich. On 1 September 2001, Carsten Jancker scored first on 6 minutes before Michael Owen took three, Steven Gerrard one and Emile Heskey one. Dietmar Hamann started that match as well, in front of 63,000 at the Olympiastadion with Pierluigi Collina in charge. Exactly 329 days separated the two fixtures.
Why did Kevin Keegan pick Gareth Southgate in midfield against Germany in 2000?
Keegan chose Southgate, a centre back, for the holding midfield role, a final show of his gambler’s instinct. The selection came ahead of Paul Ince and Dennis Wise, both established in that position. Southgate lined up in front of a defence containing Tony Adams and Martin Keown. It was the last team Keegan ever picked for England.
When did Kevin Keegan die?
On 20 July 2026, at the age of 75. Newcastle United announced his death, describing him as one of the most deeply loved figures in its history. He had been diagnosed with cancer in January 2026. He managed England from 1999 to 2000, resigning at Wembley after the defeat by Germany. He had won the Ballon d’Or twice as a player.
England 0-1 Germany (2000)
A wet Saturday, a free kick from thirty yards, a centre back in midfield and a manager who told the truth about himself in a room with a bath in it. Wembley shut on a defeat, and England reached the finals as group winners regardless. Days that changed more than a scoreline fill our On This Day series, and the fixtures carrying the most weight sit in Football Rivalries.
Sources: RSSSF, England Football Online, Transfermarkt, FIFA, UEFA, Wembley Stadium, Yahoo Sport, Sky Sports, ESPN, Newcastle United, Al Jazeera.
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